Can vegetarians build muscles without supplements?

Vegetarianism has lately been gaining a lot of attention for all the right reasons. However, there are also a lot of myths that surround it. The most popular one being, vegetarians don’t get enough protein through food, and hence need artificial ‘supplements.’ But being a well-informed FitNut, here is what you need to know –

Supplements – Why / Why not

Muscle building supplements come in various packaging – powder, pills, tonic etc. But do they really work? Well, what they do is, they help your muscle recover after being torn down during workouts, and hence aid in the body building process. But unnatural gain also means unwanted side effects.

While it completely depends on the ingredients present, extremely large amounts of vitamin D intake could lead to nausea and headache, whereas not drinking enough water while on supplements leads to dehydration and kidney stones. This makes it all the more important to take the right supplement, in the right amount, at the right time. But on the other hand, if you do want to keep it natural, there are various vegetarian sources of protein.

Non-meat products that contain protein –

In terms of dietary supplements – Vitamin, Omega 3 and Protein is what will help you go another rep. Here are our top 5, most healthy vegetarian / vegan food –

Dairy products – Milk, Curd and Cottage Cheese (Except if you are a vegan)

Grains & Pulses – Quinoa, Buckwheat

Peanut Butter

Greens – Spinach and Broccoli

Browns – Brown bread, Brown rice, Brown everything!

Make the best use of homemade protein shakes and energy bars. Play around with recipes and create your own special food; granola bar with strawberry maybe?

Workout –

Irrespective of where you get your proteins from, dedicated efforts and sweating it out is the only way you will ever gain muscle. Adherence to the path and program is key!

Need some more motivation? Check out Frank Medrano, this Calisthenics beast is a VEGAN!